102: How to write a Cam Resume

For most of us the fun of simply being a part of the MES is enough, but for a select few when the opportunity to volunteer presents itself they answer the call. One way in which you can volunteer in the MES is to hold an officer position. This can be anything form Chapter Coordinator or Venue Storyteller all the way up to National Storyteller or National Coordinator. The first step in getting one of these jobs is creating an MES resume. This is similar in many ways to a work resume, but includes a few extra things that you would not ordinarily have on a work resume.

Name & MES number: While it should be intuitive, this often is forgotten. Your resume is just like any other MES public communication & you should sign & tag it like you would any email. Signatures are not just for emails. They’re for every MES document you will put out while in office so get use to it now.

Address: You may be wondering why the general public needs this. MES started as a snail mail organization. While it is now strongly encouraged for Officers to have electronic means of communication the general membership is comprised of people from all walks of life who may or may not have the means to have regular Internet access so snail mail still needs to be an option for them. Everyone has a right to be a member and if you’re going to be an officer everyone in your constituency needs to be able to reach you even if that means sending a letter.

Email: As an officer you need to be reachable. The most common method used in MES is email so this is a requirement for officers.

Objective: This is where you make your first impression to your voters. In this section give a brief description of why you are running for election & what you hope to accomplish during your time in office should you be elected. This & the “plan of action section” may be arguable the most important parts of your resume, if you make a good impression here you can win a lot of votes and if you make a bad impression people may not read past this point.

Plan of Action: This is the meat & potatoes. Do you have ideas or innovations you want to implement? Do you want to see change, or reinforce what is already working in new ways? This is where you talk about it. People want to see that when you com in to the office you are not just there for the prestige (both literal and figurative).

Mind’s Eye Society Experience: This is where you want to list, in chronological order all the positions you’ve held since you joined the MES. You’ll want to include the position, the dates you entered and left office and the location (domain, city, region etc) where you held office.

Disciplinary Actions: Honesty is the best policy. You may not want to included this, but people have a right to know who they are voting for & this is required by org policy. Including the DAs you’ve had in the past lets people know what kind of activity you’ve been involved in and leaving something out may be grounds for disqualification from the election. This often is redacted from the resume which is released to the membership, if the elections moderator does not feel it is relevant to the position.

Real World Experience: This is where you talk about the things on your Real resume that would be relevant for the position you are applying for. Have you been a manager at a restaurant? Have you worked a booth at GenCon? Did you served in the military? Do you coached an intramural soft ball league? Restaurant managers have to handle tones of paper work, are often responsible for thousands of dollars, & require good customer service skills. Working any kind of con is great experience for any major convention MES holds. Military services requires discipline, the ability to direct others effectively & a respect for a chain of command like the one MES uses, and coaching an intramural team requires not only the ability to organize people but both tactical skills & the ability to motivate people in a positive and constructive manner. The skills you develop in your every day jobs and non MES extracurricular activities are often applicable to MES elected offices in a variety of ways.

Education: What you know is often as important if not more so than what you’ve done. If you have a degree, speak another language, or have expertise in a commonly used piece of software used by MES make sure to included it. The more technical skill you can prove you have the more valuable you appear to be.

Final notes: This document outlines the minimum requirements for an MES resume to be eligible for election however you may (and are encouraged to) include more information. If you think it will be pertinent or valuable to mention to your voters, include it. This can included but is not limited to awards, accomplishments, letters of recommendation, or hidden talents you may have. The more information you can give the better you’ll look.